In November of 2018 I was fortunate enough to spend seven days in Helsinki with Kyungmin Park. During that time we recorded a series of audio interviews, which went on to form the basis of Seven Days in Helsinki: Conversations with Kyungmin Park.

As with all work of length, people want to know what it is about before investing time. I suppose the best way to describe this documentary is that it is: an intimate, meditative, poetic, look at the life and work of Kyungmin Park — captured during a specific point in time. The film does not purport to be a complete picture and eschews a linear biographical approach. There is a heavy focus on childhood memory, and what was at the time, current artistic work.

Film condenses time and artistic pursuits are quite time consuming. This creates a tension that must be reconciled. Does one speed through visualizing the act of creation at the risk of making the process look easy? Or, does one linger on the creative process for too long at the risk of boring the audience? I hope that I have struck a balance, though admittedly I have made the decision to focus on the effort involved.

Hard work might not always be dramatic, or fun, but it is the oft hidden reality that exists for all artists. The value of art is in this time, this expertise, this passion. Art is slow. It requires focus. Patience. Dedication. To minimize this effort would be to reduce art, Kyungmin’s art, to a mere commodity, which it clearly is not.

As in my previous films, I am intentional in mirroring the structure and approach to that of the content. And so, while this is certainly a documentary about figurative sculpture and ceramics, it is also heavily about memory, creation, and the abstraction generated when expression and experience is filtered through point of view.

My true passion lies in the avant-garde and there is certainly a hint of that here, though I tried not to stray too far. The soundtrack I feel you will either love or hate. That also seems to be a recurring theme in my work.